The rig count in the Permian Basin decreased by one in the week ending Thursday, the latest count by Baker Hughes shows, with 443 rigs active in the region.
Nationally, the oil and gas rig count decreased by two to a total of 993 rigs. A year ago, 824 rigs were active. The count shows that 797 rigs sought oil, a decrease of seven from the previous week, and 194 explored for natural gas, an increase of four from the previous week. The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981. It bottomed out in May of 2016 at 404.
The regional benchmark Plains-West Texas Intermediate Posting ended Thursday at $61.50 per barrel, down 75 cents from the previous week. National benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude ended at $64.94 per barrel, down 94 cents from the previous week.
ON THE NET: Baker Hughes rig count.
